Inside the Mantle
by AKIDA Yamakusa
Summary: Side Hiko Seijurou XIII, for Kenshin was never meant to be an easy student. This is originally hosted in the now-gone geocities, and was a piece of technically ghastly work from 9 years ago. Please accept my apology.


INSIDE THE MANTLE (I) (version 2.1) Rurouni Kenshin Fanfiction written by AKIDA Yamakusa, edited by 262501

"So the BAKA DESHI (stupid pupil) has gone to slash people trying to bring SHIAWASE (262501: this word does not have a direct translation in English. Close words for it include 'happiness', 'luck', and is linked to warmth, life and love) to others…" smiled Hiko sadly. He thumped his newly bought SAKE (Japanese rice wine) on his hut's uneven ground and thought over the news he just heard from the SAKE shop. He smirked as he imagined his red-haired student, aged only 14, still having the short and slim body of a boy, moving quickly in the 'god-speed' of HITEN MITSUGURI RYU, slashing grown-ups down before those poor people, who would be more than 2 heads taller than the little lethal fire, could show an expression of surprise or horror.

Hiko sat on the floor, hands gently soothing an uncompleted pottery bowl and remembered scenes from the not-so-far-away past…

The first time when Hiko saw Kenshin (who was then called 'Shinta'), Kenshin was in a shocked state, looking pathetic. A little more than three years ago, in a morning similar to this, when Hiko just bought his SAKE and was going back to his hut, he met a group of people who were obviously being robbed by a gang of gangsters, and the gangsters were killing women. Hiko killed all of the gangsters in no time and was angered at himself that he had not arrived earlier. All were dead or incurable except one little child.

_"__Standard emotional reaction of losing people who are close to __you_," thought Hiko, as he gasped psychologically at the beauty of the little boy, whose hair was as red as the fresh blood all around him, and was amazed that this seemingly most fragile child could be the only survivor of this cruel robbery and killing. Hiko looked around and counted the dead.

_"__Four bandits. A man and his wife, probably, and 3 young ladies dressed properly __with__make __up. Looks like the couple are "children seller". And this red-headed child…so beautiful…seems possible that they were to be sold for their bodies…__"_

"Child, go down to the village. The people there will take care of you," said Hiko with an expressionless face, as he cleaned up his sword. "Such things are very common nowadays. Dead people are dead forever. You must be glad that you are alive."

_"__I am sure anyone would like to take in such a beautiful child. I am sorry I have to leave you here, because I really don't want to see you grow up painfully and regret having killed people. I must not spoil your future…__" _Hiko silently persuaded himself to leave.

Two days later, Hiko went down to the village again for some food supply and asked the shop keeper whether he had seen a red-headed child. He was sad to find that no one had seen the little boy.

"_Probably too shocked and stood there all night and f__roze__ himself to death…may be that's better for him, __though," _sighed Hiko.

Therefore, the second time Hiko saw Kenshin, it was Hiko who was shocked. Hiko, unconsciously walking into the little clearing in the forest where two days ago he saved Kenshin from the group of robbers, was amazed to see the child still alive, standing at the same place. The clearing was a little bit larger, and Hiko observed that there were lumps of mud all over the grounds, and three stones at the feet of the child.

"So... did you not only bury your family, but also the gangsters?" asked Hiko, trying not to show his excitement in his voice.

Little Kenshin answered, "I reckon when they're dead, all are the same. And they are not my family members. My parents died of a plague two years ago."

"What are the stones for?"

"They're for Akane, Sakura, and Yakeko (262501: female names). My friends. We have only known each other since several days ago, but we became very good friends. These are the best stones I could find here...They died because they wanted to protect me, although I thought as I was the only boy there, I had the responsibility to protect them... However, instead…"

Tears ran down the pink cheeks, and white showed on the tightly held red fists.

It was then Hiko was moved.

_"__Isn't it that the HITEN MITSUGURI RYU is for protecting people? May be what this little child needs is the ability to protect people…I cannot fail __him," _thought Hiko.

Hiko made up his mind, then history followed.

HITEN MITSUGURI RYU was invented to protect people, and the successor should never go with any political group as it is so powerful that any party the successor decides to side with, that side will win. Though it may not be true in the near future, it is true for now. What's more is the forever truth that swords are weapons that meant to kill, and that swords techniques are skills that aim to kill.

_"Now, that 14-year-old boy was using his sword and sword skills to walk his own road, and has sided with the ISSHIN (revolutionary) group. I just hope that he will not return here with incurable wounds and scars on his mind and body, and force me to teach the succession technique to a HITOKIRI (assassin) who is at the fringe of madness because of his job."_

Hiko contemplated as he poured a little SAKE into the petite cup and drank the mouthful. He sighed and stared at the SAKURA (oriental cherry) trees far away, through the hut's window. He smiled as he remembered his first mistake with Shinta.

_A cold smile spread out on Hiko's face, "__Yes, He was Shinta, the little silent red-headed ghost then._ "

After he renamed Shinta to Kenshin, he forgot to ask his age. It was not until a month later, after the careful nourishing and exercises to make sure that the boy's body was in good condition and ready for strenuous training, that he remembered he never asked his student's age.

And Shinta's answer surprised Hiko. Hiko had thought that Shinta should be six or seven years old, at most eight and never expected the answer to be 'ten'. Hiko was quite furious at his own mistake and nearly showed it in the face.

"_It was then I started to call him __'__BAKA DESHI__'__(stupid pupil),__" _reflected Hiko, "_May be I was just angry about my own stupidity…__haha. However, I still decided that I would teach all I know to the __underfed__ tiny boy, as promised.__"_

Hiko laughed at the thought, "..._and now I failed. Not only Kenshin had failed to learn the succession technique, I am also not quite sure that he has fully understood those parts of the RYU that were not only swords skills. The essence of the RYU is the wisdom of living as a human being and the theories about people's mind._

_That is what I am worried about,__" _Hiko said to himself silently. "_Fighting and then winning the fight does not end the story, you know.__.._

_Just a little more than 3 years since Kenshin started to learn HITEN MITSUGURI RYU, he chose to leave just before the last stage of the training. I was not a bit surprised that snowy afternoon when he finally broke up with me. He had been insisting to go into the political upheaval since the autumn, and that morning we had a quarrel over the subject near the waterfall. The fact that we had to shout nearly at the top of our voices over the sound of the waterfall probably added to our stubbornness and impatience. And the fire inside a teenage boy burnt away all obstacles…_

_Damn, I don't even have time to teach him the most important lesson successfully: the value of life. Although he seems to have some intuition in the subject, he has never been out of the confusion caused by that bandit attack from which I saved him."_

The night wind blew into the little hut, like a cool stream, carrying the warm smell of the SAKURA with it, brought Hiko back to a similar night years before.

The BAKA DESHI had been inattentive for the day's training, and strangely, punishment didn't help.

"_May be it was because of the after-effect of the poisonous KINOKO (mushroom) (262501: In the manga, Hiko revealed that Kenshin once nearly lost his life because he ate some poisonous mushroom.),__"_ thought Hiko_, __"__I hope it is not permanent…__"_

"BAKA DESHI, you are going to sleep in my hut for an extra night."

"HAI, SHISHOU." (Yes, teacher.)

The two were having dinner. Hiko looked worriedly at Kenshin, who was absent-mindedly playing with the chopsticks and rice and not eating much.

_"__Something must be on the BAKA DESHI's mind. I can see the confusion on his pinky __face,_" Hiko frowned as he observed his disciple.

"BAKA DESHI, stop playing with that rice. If you don't eat properly, when you grow up, you will look like a woman, and you'll regret it," Hiko smirked like he used to be.

Kenshin looked up, with eyes focusing nowhere, asked, "Why did they die? They were very good people, Akane and them all…"

_"__So, the BAKA DESHI was still tangled up in the past __tragedy,_" Hiko sighed without showing it.

"You said they died in order to protect you, right? Kenshin, how many times have I told you that dead people are dead forever?"

"You don't understand…" said Kenshin, bitting his lower lips.

_"__Shit! This brat not only has learnt to be disobedient, but also disagree with me. Teaching is becoming difficult. But I was a difficult child, too…__" _Hiko couldn't help to become angry at this point, though.

Kenshin continued, "I mean, why? Why they? I… I mean, why did they protect me with their lives? Why did they insist me to live on? Why me?"

Hiko was a little bit stunned.

_"__It seemed that his problem was really on the value of life, though he did not realize it. He unconsciously felt the pressure of living a life that can be called__ a__ human__ life__ and therefore question the value of life. I never realized this until this __moment." _

_Hiko s__uddenly didn't know how to answer __the question__. __"__How can you explain __ the meaning of __'life' to a 12-yr-old boy?__"_

"So now you know what people will feel when they lose someone they care. Remember this: when you try to protect a person with the sword, keep in your mind that you are holding two lives in your hand. And if one of them is lost, the other will have a scar on his/her heart forever," Hiko said, trying to distract his student from his confusion.

"HAI, SHISHOU." Hiko found it pleasant to see Kenshin gulping down the rest of his meal.

The distraction didn't last long. That night, after Hiko finished painting a pot and wanted to go to sleep, he heard Kenshin sobbing in the sleeping room. Hiko tiptoed to the door and peeped inside. Kenshin was sitting up from his quilt, wiping his eyes, his back facing the door. Just as Hiko wanted to step in and told him that "a strong man is not only physically strong, but also psychologically strong", he shook his head, went back to the working place, removed the mantle and changed into the sleeping clothes.

_"__I rarely put on sleeping clothes while I __sleep…"_ Hiko thought as he put on the soft clothes.

_"Back then, I didn't consciously know what I was doing, nor what should I do, though I somehow automatically pushed open the door to the sleeping room, walked behind Kenshin, made sure that he was not holding his KATANA(Japanese sword), and without thinking, embraced him with my comparatively huge arms. A 12-year-old kid who unconsciously suffered from the pressure of living a full life, a life that can be called as a fulfilling life of a human being…" Hiko had fallen into talking to himself in his head._

Kenshin was stunned and struggled for once and then continued to sob…

_"... __and wet my __clothes," _grimaced Hiko as he remembered the scene.

_"I had__ waited until he stopped sobbing and said, __'_Everyone gives their own life their own value. Do not cry over other's decisions. Just live like a human being and you won't regret.'

_And automatically, I hugged the little fire a little bit tighter and whispered in his ears, __'_When you don't know what to do, stop fussing and calm yourself. Feel the whisper of the real you which is always the correct answer to your problem. This way, you will live like a …'

_Damn, it was then I realized that I had been talking to a sleeping boy._

_I hope all the words I said that night have at least enter his subconsciousness; and together with the intuition of his kind-hearted, warm soul, they would prevent him from doing something which he could never forget himself for doing…"_

_~END~_

Author(AKIDA Yamakusa)'s note: I was disappointed that such a glamoring character like Hiko Seijuurou should have so little scenes…because he's not the main character, and is too much brighter and wiser and stronger than the main character… therefore, "Behind the Scenes" series is dedicated mainly to this unlucky character. The idea for this particular story came up when I watched the OVA which was about Kenshin's history as the Battousai. I wonder how Hiko would feel, seeing his beloved, beautiful student killing so many people, knowing that killing doesn't solve the problem underneath the tragedies and the painful experience that there is always more to kill so one starts doubting whether it is really right to kill. From this point of view, I suddenly realized why Hiko had so cold heartedly told the pathetic Shinta to go down to the village instead of taking him in, while the second time Hiko seemed to be possessed by the warm soul (and loveliness) of Kenshin. Also, it suddenly dawned to me that despite the smirking Hiko did to Kenshin, underneath all his aloofness, Hiko cared so much about Kenshin and probably ached about how badly Kenshin was treated. Kenshin's cute look probably had set fire to the father instinct inside Hiko. I think that Watsuki SENSEI would agree with me about the above description of Hiko, because in the manga, Hiko had shown his care to Kenshin here and there, and I thought that Hiko's aloofness to Kenshin in MANGA(comics) could be explained by Freud's defense mechanism…oops going too far… (Honestly, I wrote the first draft of this story when I was revising for my Psychology exam, therefore, please forgive me if you think this piece has too much psycho stuff…next time, I would add in more actions)

Editor (262501)'s notes: This is the first Rurouni Kenshin fan fiction written by Yamakusa-chan, and I got my head swollen when I read her first draft-- the narration jumped from third person to first person very quickly and adding to the mess, the time jump did not synchronize with it. Luckily, the psychological content was so well written that I did not have any difficulty in getting her ideas. The narration problem was solved easily, once homepage presentation is used. One can easily distinguish the time and point of view of narration by simple manipulation of fonts and colors. The only comment to the content is that, yeah, it didn't have the style of SHOUNEN MANGA. It has too much psychology and not much interesting actions. I wonder who else should be interested in such a long piece if one does not particularly like Hiko. But the flow is okay, and the whole piece makes sense and is consistent to the original. It is far from rubbish but I am afraid that not much people will continue to read on after this thing…hmm, may be I should add a warning in the main page…But I really appreciate the good sense and superb flow of psycho stuff, because this is exactly the thing that made Watsuki SENSEI's Rurouni Kenshin a big hit, and made this SHOUNEN MANGA so special and attractive.


End file.
